


blind man's bluff

by rysanthel



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - School, Gen, I Tried, because i'm biased as hell, bullying but vague, but i suck at friendship lbr, but of course, here comes my first 93 line, hmmm typical, lol, rabin neo in friendship way, so we have friendship and school au, taekwoon had to tag along, this is pure friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-05-28 21:11:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15057890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rysanthel/pseuds/rysanthel
Summary: History was bound to repeat itself—even if they took a different way.





	blind man's bluff

**Author's Note:**

> //bad summary bc im stressed
> 
> hellu~~~
> 
> this is, again, a work that I'm actually going to publish somewhere for a challenge, but I put this here first so I can proofread and change some stuff if I have to  
> this isn't that good tbh, i wrote half of this a few weeks ago and finish the rest of it today so idk hAHAHAh
> 
> anyway, if you somehow find this and decide to give this a try, welcome and enjoy!
> 
> R xx

_"Close your eyes, you'll be fine."_  

 

★★★

 

There was a thing Hongbin remembered from his childhood. It was that tag game called blind man's bluff; where they picked a kid, which they called the " _It_ ", to put on a blindfold and made him grope around, then the other kids would scatter in the plain sight and avoid being caught. They teased the poor kid too, trying to fool him to turn to wrong directions. Of course, to make it fair, they chose the _It_ player with rock-paper-scissors.

Hongbin really hated that game.

It definitely wasn't because he mostly lost in rock-paper-scissors (or maybe it was, kinda), but it was because that game was plain stupid. Who would even enjoy pretending being blind and chasing the others while they were being loud and annoying? Absolutely not Hongbin.

"Blind man's bluff actually teaches you something," Taekwoon once told him when he was sulking about it for the nth time.

Hongbin stopped ranting, looking up to the taller teenager with both eyes narrowed. "Teaches me what?" he asked skeptically.

"Life's kinda like that game," Taekwoon continued. "There are always people and things distracting you, trying to scare you—but if you close your eyes and ignore it, you'll be fine."

Hongbin scoffed. "But I'm not supposed to _ignore_ them, I have to _catch_ them if I want my turn to end."

Taekwoon just ruffled Hongbin's hair and laughed. He didn't say anything, although he seemed like he wanted to. It left Hongbin slightly confused; but he was still a kid and literally nothing worried him.

 

***

 

For Hongbin, Jung Taekwoon was the "little secret only he knows about".

Taekwoon was fifteen when they met for the first time. Hongbin, hiding behind his mom's long skirt, shyly peeked out to observe the older boy of the family that just moved next door. In the eyes of an eight years old, Taekwoon was really tall, really strong, just like those superheroes from the animation series he always watched on Sunday morning.

"What's your name?" A little smile. Kind. Warm. Pleasant. It reminded Hongbin of a cool summer breeze. But there was something odd about it—something that Hongbin only realized after a couple of years after; how Taekwoon's smile didn't seem to reach a pair of his small eyes.

Hongbin looked up to his mom, waiting for an approval to speak to this stranger. His mom nodded, and Hongbin answered, "Hongbin."

"Hello, Hongbinnie. I'm Taekwoon," the older boy replied, hand stretched out. "Do you want to play with me?"

Hongbin didn't wait for a word from his mom before he put his small hand on Taekwoon's rather cold palm.

 

***

Taekwoon never told him where he came from.

 

***

 

Hongbin played around with other kids from his neighborhood like a normal little boy, but he spent most of his time with Wonshik. Kim Wonshik, seven months older in the same birth year as him, with his weird and loud laugh that made his right eye twitched, the only friend who let Hongbin beat him in all games they played and whom Hongbin shared his ice cream with. They went to the same kindergarten, same elementary school, they celebrated their birthdays together since they were five.

Hongbin didn't know how to get bored. He only had one friend and there was really nothing to complain about. They're a pair, Hongbin thought. Just like socks. It's fine to wear mismatched socks, but it feels weird. Not right.

Hongbin didn't say it out loud, of course, because he knew he would be laughed at. Except for Taekwoon. Taekwoon never laughed at him, not even at his (dumb) analogy of socks. Instead, he told Hongbin that he once had a friend like that too. His name was Cha Hakyeon;  _Hakyeon_ , Hongbin repeated in his head. It had a nice ring to it.

"Is he tall like you?" he asked with a curiosity of an eleven years old.

Taekwoon just nodded.

"Is he nice?"

Taekwoon nodded again.

"Does he play soccer?"

This time, Taewoon shook his head slowly. "No, he didn't."

Hongbin was slightly disappointed to hear that, but hey, maybe this friend was good at something else, like science. Or maybe he played music instruments. The mental picture of Hakyeon he had was really cool that Hongbin got excited. "Where is he now?" he asked.

Taekwoon hesitated almost a little bit too long for a simple question. "I don't know."

Hongbin furrowed his forehead in confusion. It was strange for him. Didn't Taekwoon say they were friends? Weren't friends supposed to be with each other?

"Why didn't you know?"

Another pause, longer than the previous one. "He didn't tell me."

"Why didn't you ask?" he insisted.

Taekwoon turned his head to Hongbin and smile, and it was the exact same smile from the first day they met. "I wonder that, too."

 

***

Taekwoon never said anything else about Hakyeon.

***

 

The first and the last time Taekwoon got mad was that night when Hongbin came to his house running, a bleeding cut near his left eyebrow, dirt on his cheek and his shirt, his hair clung damply to his temples. "Hongbin! What happ—"

"We were just playing soccer—Wonshik and I—I didn't know where they came from," Hongbin explained himself, gasping for breath in between his stuttering words. "They told us to leave—we didn't want to—they pushed Wonshik I-I tried to stop them—one boy threw a rock at me so I r-ran away."

Taekwoon looked like he wanted to shout at Hongbin; he really looked like he was about to, but the fear in the pair of his doe eyes, and his voice, and the tremble in his hands told him not to. Hongbin was on the verge of tears, but he wouldn't cry. _Not a little kid anymore_ , he reminded himself in silence. Turning fourteen this year. Only a year younger than his Taekwoon hyung when they first met. Would Taekwoon cry because of a mere cut? No. So Hongbin wouldn't cry.

But it was clear in his head, the image of Wonshik curling up the ground that he caught from the corner of his eyes. His pitiful, muffled groans when those huge scary boys gathered around him and kicked him in the stomach.

"Wonshikie..." Hongbin choked on his words, finally showing the first sign of tears that he had been holding. "I shouldn't lea—"

"He'll be okay," Taekwoon said, kind of carelessly. His lips were pressed into a thin line. Hongbin knew Taekwoon only said that to appease him, but the coward part of him wanted to believe that. He had to believe that, otherwise he would hate himself. For running. For leaving.

"It's like blind man's bluff game," Taekwoon whispered. "You close your eyes and ignore them. Don't get hurt. Listen to me, Hongbin. Ignore them. You'll be fine. Everything will be fine."

Taekwoon's hands, Hongbin noticed when the older wiped the tears and dirt on his face, were shaking almost as hard as his own.

It was only then Hongbin found a scar above Taekwoon's right eyebrow, and a voice inside his head wondered if the cut on his left eyebrow would look like that too after a couple of years.

 

***

 

Taekwoon never told him how he got his scar.

 

***

 

Taekwoon said it would be fine, and Hongbin trusted him, because Taekwoon was an adult; he was stronger, and dependable, and of course he knew everything better.

So, when Hongbin found those boys, the same group who hurt him before, waylaying Wonshik when he got off the school bus and tripped him in front of the crowd, Hongbin closed his eyes and walked faster.

The boys followed him everyday after school, throwing trash at his hair, pushing him, calling him names. Hongbin was scared, so he stayed longer in school to avoid them.

Wonshik never went to the canteen to buy bread again because they took his lunch money, so Hongbin ate his bread with his other classmates. Wonshik was alone in their class.

There were bruises on Wonshik's legs, hands, even more hidden behind his shirt. It was useless to pretend not to know where or how he got those, but it was easier to ignore when you didn't know, so no one ever bothered to ask, let alone to stand for him.

It felt wrong and Hongbin began to feel anxious about going to school. He couldn't sleep at night and his grades started to drop. But Taekwoon kept assuring him, "He'll be fine. Don't get involved, understand? It'll just make it worse for him, and you too."

Hongbin listened to him, because Taekwoon was a real adult; he was always right.

One day Wonshik came to the class with dirty uniform. They scribbled swear words all around his face with black markers. The whole class went silent. Wonshik didn't cry, but he bit his lips too hard they bled. His hands balled into fists, his whole body was slightly shaking. He smelt like garbage and their homeroom teacher told him to go home, and that he would call his parents.

Wonshik threw a glance to where Hongbin was sitting. A plea; _I thought we were friends, Hongbin? Aren't we friends, Hongbin?_

And Hongbin looked away.

Wonshik didn't come to class the next day, and the day after, and so on.

Their homeroom teacher announced that Wonshik was going to transfer school.

"It's better like this," Taekwoon said after Hongbin told him about it. "This way you're safe."

"But he's my friend."

"Hongbin," Taekwoon insisted, clutching Hongbin's arm in desperation. "Blind man's bluff. Remember? Close your eyes, you'll be fine. I promise."

And Hongbin trusted him, because Taekwoon couldn't be wrong.

Unfortunately he didn't hear the silent  _"I've lost Hakyeon, I can't afford to lose you too."_

 

***

 

Taekwoon never told him how he  _tried_ to save Hakyeon and failed.

 

***

 

Wonshik transferred to the school in another city, so he and his family had to move out from their neighborhood.

Hongbin never met Wonshik again ever since.

Taekwoon said it was better like that and Hongbin was safe, and Hongbin trusted him, because Taekwoon was an adult, he couldn't be wrong, could he?

Only a month after Wonshik's transferal, Hongbin almost fell on his knees when someone tripped him in his way to school. It was one of those boys—the same group who hurt him back then and turned Wonshik's life a nightmare.

"Hey, weren't you that boy who ran away?"

Hongbin looked up to see those intimidating smirks they threw at him. His heart paused a beat.

"Where's your little coward friend, nerd?"

They started laughing in unison, and Hongbin gulped. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his school backpack.

But, didn't Taekwoon say he would be safe?

 

***

 

Taekwoon couldn't save Hongbin, too.

 

★★★


End file.
